Teenage girls more studious, less athletic, figures show

A new survey by the state-run Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) shows teenage girls or girls between the ages of 13 and 19 are more likely to enroll in the higher education system while also cautioning that watching TV is the most widely preferred activity among girls. Regarding sports, exercise is the least favorable pursuit for young girls.

The statistics were released on Friday ahead of next week's World Population Day. The theme of this year's World Population Day, "investing in teenage girls," was selected by the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA).

Teenage girls make up 11.3 percent of the total female population in Turkey according to 2015 figures. The provinces of Şırnak, Ağrı and Siirt in southeastern and eastern Turkey have the highest population of teenage girls in the country, according to TurkStat figures, while the provinces of Muğla and İzmir in western Turkey have the lowest population of teenage girls.

Statistics indicate that the net schooling ratio in higher education for teenage girls has increased while the same ratio decreased for teenage boys. In the 2014-2015 academic year, the number of girls enrolled in higher education increased to 41.1 percent from 40.9 percent from the previous academic year. Girls preferred the fields of business and management in universities across the country last year, according to statistics.

Figures show that girls spent less time on hobbies and games than teenage boys and devoted most of their time to education; devoting an average of three hours and 11 per minutes per day to their studies. Watching TV, the favorite pastime of Turks of all ages, dominated the leisure time activities of teenage girls. The survey revealed that reading books is the second most favored leisure activity among teenage girls. Girls spent the least amount of time on sports activities with only seven minutes per day on average. However, the number of teenage girls who are licensed athletes showed a dramatic increase, from 34,786 in 2007 to 428,931 in 2015. Volleyball is the favored sport among girls, according to figures regarding the affiliation of teenage athletes with sports federations.

Girls also tend to be more suicidal, TurkStat figures revealed, with the suicide rate among teenage girls increasing to an average of 4.23 per 100,000 girls last year. The highest suicide rate for females in Turkey was among girls between the ages of 15 and 19, TurkStat reveals.